Oct. 27, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format - Additional Information Available in This Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Game: Johns Hopkins (5-2, 2-2 Centennial Conference) hits the road for the final time this season as the Blue Jays travel to Ursinus (1-6, 0-3).
The Teams: Johns Hopkins dropped a 9-6 decision against Muhlenberg last Saturday, while the Bears fell to Gettysburg, 14-0. It was the 15th consecutive Centennial Conference loss for Ursinus.
Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 19-3 in its last 22 games dating back to the final four games of the 2002 season and 26-5 in its last 31 games dating back to the final two games of the 2001 season.
Seniors Tie Record: The seniors on the 2004 Johns Hopkins football team tied the school record for most wins by a class with the 37-17 win at Gettysburg on October 16. The Blue Jays have posted a 30-8 (.789) record since the current senior class arrived in 2001. Last year?s senior class posted a 30-11 (.730) record from 2000-2003.
The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (JHU ?82), who is in his 15th season as the head coach at Homewood. With the season-opening win over Washington & Lee in 2001, Margraff became the all-time winningest coach in school history and he now sports an overall record of 90-55-3 (.618). The previous record for wins by a Johns Hopkins football coach was 60 by Ray Van Orman (1920-35).
Margraff guided the Blue Jays to a then school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997 and 1998 before leading the Blue Jays to their first-ever playoff appearance (and victory), first-ever Centennial Conference title and a school-record nine wins in 2002. He topped that last season as JHU posted a 10-1 record with Centennial and ECAC South Atlantic Championships. Margraff?s .618 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 or more games and the Blue Jays are 66-31-1 (.679) since the beginning of the 1995 season.
Margraff?s Resurrection: Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Jim Margraff has guided JHU to 10 winning seasons and 90 wins. The 90 wins are one more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 22 years combined (1968-89). During that time, Hopkins posted 11 winning seasons and won 89 games.
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season Johns Hopkins is 34-11 (.756) at home and has twice enjoyed 10-game winning streaks at Homewood Field during that time. Currently the Blue Jays have won 10 of their last 12 and 16 of their last 20 at home.
More Home Sweet Home: During their last 12 home games the Blue Jays have outscored the opposition, 329-125.
The Road Most Traveled: Johns Hopkins is 15-5 in its last 20 road games. The Blue Jays were 4-1 on the road in 2002 and 2003. The Blue Jays are 12-2 in their last 14 road games since dropping back-to-back road tilts late in the 2001 season.
More Traveling: A win over Ursinus would give the Blue Jays a perfect road record for the first time since 1998, when JHU went 5-0 away from Homewood. JHU closes the season with two straight games at home.
It?s All in the Speech: There must be something to what head coach Jim Margraff says in the locker room before the Blue Jays take the field. Hopkins has outscored the opposition, 51-13 in the first quarter this season and 33-13 in the third quarter. Dating back to the beginning of last season (a span of 18 games) JHU has outscored the opposition, 104-30 in the first quarter and 117-27 in the third.
Sack Masters: In 11 games last season the Johns Hopkins defense came up with a total of 20 sacks. Through seven games this season the Blue Jays already have 25 sacks to their credit. JHU had five in the season-opener against Rochester, nine in the win over Kean and five in last week?s game against Muhlenberg. Nine different players have already registered at least one sack on the year with Brian Cook leading the way with 8.5 sacks.
Caught Behind the Line: In addition to the 25 sacks the Blue Jays have already registered this season, the Blue Jay defense has also amassed 71 other tackles for losses on the year. Brian Cook leads the way with 19 tackles for losses, including his 8.5 sacks, among his 48 tackles on the year.
In the Zone: Johns Hopkins has excelled when it has moved the ball into the red zone this season. The Blue Jays have scored on 20-of-21 (.947) trips into the red zone with 15 touchdowns and five field goals through seven games. No other team in the league has scored on more than 72% of its trips inside the red zone.
Keys to Success: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 56-4 (.933) under head coach Jim Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 43 of their last 45 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 61-10-2 (.849) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less since Margraff arrived for the 1990 season...the Blue Jays have won 26 of their last 28 games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.
Amazing, But True: Last week?s loss against Muhlenberg snapped a 45-game winning streak in games when the Blue Jays held the opposition to less than 10 points. Prior to last Saturday the last time JHU lost a game when it held the opposition to less than 10 points was on October 18, 1986, when JHU dropped a 6-0 decision against ... Muhlenberg.
And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected three players to serve as team captains for the 2004 season: senior DB Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), senior RB Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) and senior OL Matt Weeks (Landisville, PA/Hempfield).
Star Quality: Johns Hopkins placed a school-record 13 players on the 2003 All-Centennial Football Team and eight of those players return for the 2004 season. The six first-time selections for the Blue Jays in 2003 tied the school record for most in one year. Below is a look at JHU?s returning All-Centennial selections:
Player Notes of Interest (Included in PDF Version)
